Gay comic characters come to the forefront

Spotlight is on characters' relationships as Archie, Marvel try to get on board with changes, stay relevant to modern readers

May 29, 2012|By Michael Cavna | The Washington Post

Artwork from the cover of Marvel Comics "Astonishing X-Men #51."

Jon Goldwater was riding his New York commuter train, just two weeks into his new job as co-chief executive of Archie Comics, when a fellow passenger tossed off a remark that blindsided him. The fresh executive had an Archie folder on his lap, Goldwater recounts, "when a woman sitting near me turned and said: 'They still make those?!'"

Yet he also took home the underlying message from the encounter several years ago: "If we didn't change Riverdale, we would risk becoming irrelevant."

Led by Goldwater, the creative minds at Archie Comics decided to "update" their characters, which hark back to a mid-century era of malt shops and letterman sweaters — when the jalopy chassis and presumed chastity went hand-in-hand. In 2010, Archie Comics entered the current century by introducing Kevin Keller, Riverdale's "first openly gay character." The result: headlines and turned heads that culminated in its "Marriage of Kevin Keller!" issue selling out this year.

To comics fans, none of this is new and surprising after decades of gay characters and relationships from mainstream publishers. But in the wake of President Barack Obama's newly stated support of gay marriage, current examples of gay romance in comics have stepped into a klieg light of broader cultural resonance.

In May, Marvel Comics announced the proposal and same-sex nuptials of Northstar, its first gay superhero, in "Astonishing X-Men" No. 50 (published last week) and No. 51 (it's a June wedding). And just days before, DC publisher Dan DiDio said at London's Kapow comic convention that a major DC character would soon become "one of our most prominent gay characters."

"It was only natural that when New York legalized gay marriage last year," says Marvel's Tom Brevoort, editor of the "Astonishing X-Men" project, "our thoughts would turn to what impact this might have on Northstar and his ongoing relationship with his partner, Kyle. The story grew organically from there — and the zeitgeist at the moment gives it even greater relevance."

Is 2012, then, a flash point for depicting gay relationships in mainstream comics, or is this just an editorial blip made brighter by the glare of electoral politics?

Tom Batiuk, an Akron native, Kent State graduate and Medina resident, is an Ohio man through and through. So it struck particularly close to home last year when he read about a parents' group in the southern part of his state protesting a high school's "tolerant attitude" toward gays.

"I still go out to my old high school," says Batiuk, who was a teacher before launching his syndicated comic strip "Funky Winkerbean" 40 years ago.

Batiuk knew then that somehow this picketing would make its way into his school-set strip, which has dealt with such nontraditional "funny page" issues as teen suicide and pregnancy, alcoholism and capital punishment. In 2008, Batiuk was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for "Lisa's Story," the arc in which one of "Funky's" main characters battled breast cancer.

On the comics pages this month, Batiuk's response to the parents' protest has played out among "Funky's" characters at Westview High. Two male students sought to attend the prom together, sparking what the cartoonist characterizes as a generational showdown. King Features says the story arc is now concluding.

"I'm not trying to proselytize here," Batiuk says. "I had a viewpoint and I knew which side I came down on. It's less an issue of 'being gay' and more an issue of tolerance and intolerance. And that idea has been in 'Funky' from the very beginning."

Goldwater knew what he was risking with his creative shake-up.

Yet Keller's transfer to Riverdale High provided a sales boost, Archie Comics says, and in March, the company announced that "Life With Archie #16: The Marriage of Kevin Keller!" had sold out. (Archie Comics would not provide exact sales figures.) Goldwater also notes that he has received no subscription cancellations over the same-sex nuptials, and "not one person has called" to complain.

Keller is "the most important new character in Archie history," Goldwater has said. And last year, Archie Comics contributor Dan Parent received a GLAAD media award nomination for Keller's creation.

Goldwater does acknowledge that he's mindful of the political climate. "We work in a bubble here while feeding off the climate," he says. "We are not immune to what's going on in the world and the rhetoric and the attacks that political parties are throwing at each other. ... Readers deserve that we reflect some of what's going on in society, and part of that is the political process. At Archie, we have a very strong point of view."

Goldwater, like Batiuk, believes being relevant to the next generation is a creative imperative.

"We have to speak for the youth and to where the cultural shift in this country is going," he tells us. "They're the ones who are going to pick up the flag and wave it."